And Then There Was the Child Who Ministered to Me in Kenya

I woke up at 6:30 AM each morning while I was in Kenya. Monday was no different except that I woke up with Marian on my mind. Marian, a dear friend, was married to Ed who had been diagnosed with cancer a relatively short time earlier. I believed the Holy Spirit brought them to my mind as a call to prayer and responded obediently. However, as the day went on my thoughts were continually brought back to Marian.

While on a long bumpy van ride on Monday afternoon, I shared my thoughts with Patty, one of the other team members. I told her about our friendship, about his cancer, about my first morning thoughts, and about how I could not get them off my mind. Then I said to her "I guess he really could even die while I am here in Kenya."

A few hours later, we went back to the orphanage. While we were laughing and playing with the children, I got a phone call. Ed had died at 10:30 Sunday night (6:30 Monday morning in Kenya).

I felt a strange mixture of both shock and confirmation of what I already knew and the tears came quickly. I went to a side room to process what I had just learned and was joined by Patty. She offered support. I cried. We prayed. 

As my mind returned to things in my presence, I noticed a sweet little girl peering around the corner with a look of concern. Apparently she had done that before and in my grief, I had not noticed. I gathered myself together and returned to where all the children were playing. She came to my side. We did not speak the same language but our hearts did not need words. At that moment, my heart needed compassion and hers wanted to give compassion. While my friends were on the other side of the world grieving together, my great big God ministered to me through an orphan who had experienced way too much pain and loss in her young life. The empathy of that child was like a soft warm blanket that God the Father wrapped around both of us.